Twisted Angel
by Brin
Summary: This is Asha's story, from the very beginnings of the covert rebel ops known as S1W through her struggles to survive Freak Nation.
1. Movies

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters appearing here. If you wish to use them, please ask me first.

Summary/Author's comments: Asha is one of the most underdeveloped, under-appreciated, and under-written (does that make sense?) characters in the DA universe. Personally, I enjoyed Asha because of her potential to become the center of an epic story. I've been watching, but I just haven't found enough fics delving into Asha's past and, after Freak Nation, her future. So, like Peter Jackson deciding to make LOTR into a movie because no one else had, I've decided to write my own story about Asha. From her first discoveries about the S1W and dealings with Logan's family in high school, to a few weeks after Freak Nation.****

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Twisted Angel 

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By****

Brin 

_People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use._ –Kierkegaard

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON—2012 

"ASHA KATHERINE THOMPSON! GET DOWN HERE!"

Asha bolted upright in her bed, dirty socks flying everywhere, and whipped her head around to look at her clock. 7:30.

"Shit!" the sixteen-year-old cried, throwing back the covers and leaping from her bed. She looked around the floor and picked out a wrinkled pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. "I'm coming, Mom!" she called through the slightly ajar door as she yanked the shirt over her head and zipped her pants. Grabbing her books and shoving them into her pack, she slung it over her shoulder and slid down the stairs, where her mom was waiting.

"You're late. The bus already left," said Mrs. Thompson with narrowed eyes. "Your brother will have to take you to school."

Asha groaned and accepted the cold piece of toast her mother was holding while fluffing her cropped ash blonde hair with her free hand. "You know he'll make me walk two blocks down the street," she complained. "He's so weird!"

"I'm sure your brother has his reasons, and good ones too," said her mother gently. She looked up as her oldest son, Cade, came down the stairs. "Cade, I need you to take your sister to school."

"She missed the bus _again?_" asked Cade with a roll of his eyes. "I'm gonna start refusing to take you."

Asha smiled sweetly at him. "But I love you _ever_ so much, Cade!"

"Yeah, yeah," he grunted. "Let's go, I have to meet Natalie before school."

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Asha distractedly twirled a lock of short blonde hair around her finger as Cade's black Acura RSX rolled across the highway at a reasonable speed. The buildings melted away on either side, with the occasional person swooping by like smeared paint. She glanced down at the road and decided to count the stripes since there was nothing better to do. _One… two… three… four… five…_

The car hit a small dent in the road and lurched, causing her to fly forward and bash her head on the dashboard.

"I told you to put your seatbelt on," commented Cade, not looking over at her.

Asha glared at him and stubbornly kept her seatbelt off. "Yeah well you should drive more carefully."

Just then a police car came dangerously close to their rear bumper. Cade kept glancing in his rearview mirror, his demeanor becoming very nervous and skittish. He tapped the steering wheel with restive fingers and continually licked his suddenly very dry lips.

Noticing this, Asha asked, "What's wrong?"

Cade shook his head. "Nothing. That guy should get off my bumper, that's all," he said, though his eyes gave away his lie.

Asha looked in the side mirror at the police car, which had tinted windows on all sides so that she couldn't see inside. That was weird. After the Pulse, tinted windows were hard to come by due to the dying car business. "Maybe you should get out of the way?"

"I'm not in his way. I'm going the speed limit, but if I speed up to change lanes he'll have me," said Cade, licking his lips nervously. "Damn, what's wrong with this guy?"

BOOM!

Asha hit her head on the dashboard as the car lurched again, then snapped back and put her seatbelt on. "What the hell was that?!" she cried, turning around in her seat to look at the police car, which had rammed them from behind.

"Sit down, Asha," instructed Cade quietly. "Don't look back there." When she opened her mouth to reply, he quickly said, "Do what I say!"

Shrugging, Asha turned back around. "Okay, okay. Don't have to get all weird on me."

Cade pulled off the highway onto the exit ramp, visibly relaxing as the police car kept going on the road.

"Why did he do that?" asked Asha, gathering her things as the school came into view. "Are you sure you were going the speed limit?"

"He would've gotten paid if I had crashed and he had assisted the wreck. Nobody would care if I said he caused it, so he wouldn't get in trouble, either," answered Cade calmly. He was stopped at a stoplight two blocks down from the school.

Asha moved to get out, but he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll take you there today," he said, staring straight ahead.

"Alright." Asha closed her door and settled back in the seat. "Thanks, Cade."

He nodded and wiped his forehead as the light turned green. The rest of the trip was silent, except for when Asha threw open the door and stepped out. "Have a good day," called Cade as she rushed into the building.

Asha slid into her first class just seconds shy of the bell, and the teacher gave her a disapproving look nonetheless. She set her things out and sat low in her chair at the back of the room, readying herself for another day of boredom and gossip.

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"Mom! I'm home!" Asha called as she stepped into her living room and tossed her rucksack onto the couch. A sweet smell was drifting in from the kitchen, and the young girl followed the smell to find her mom baking cookies. "Mmm… peanut butter?" Asha reached for the pan that her mother was holding, only to have her hand smacked.

"Not until after dinner," said Mrs. Thompson sternly.

"Yeah, yeah," groaned Asha. "Hey, can I go to the movies with KJ tonight?"

"What movie are you going to see?"

"Uhhh… the Matrix 8, probably," she said with a shrug. "Pleeeease?"

"My car's in the shop. You'll have to convince Cade."

Asha moaned and smacked her hand to her head. "Cade won't take me! He already took me to school!"

"Well, if you hadn't lost your driver's license for crashing into that fire hydrant then we wouldn't have this problem, hmm?" Mrs. Thompson narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"Okay, it wouldn't have been taken away if that police officer wasn't standing behind the stupid hydrant! And what are they doing putting a hydrant there, anyway?" wailed Asha, getting down on her knees and grasping her mother's apron with both hands. "Pleeeeease! I beg of you! Find some other way to take me there!"

"Nope. Ask Cade."

Asha grumbled under her breath and stood up. "Well… well… well FINE!" And with that, she stomped upstairs into her room and slammed the door.

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Dinner rolled around a few hours later, and Asha picked at her overcooked chicken while looking at Cade from the tops of her eyes. He was staring at his broccoli and moving it around his plate like a restless child. The youngest child of the family—ten-year-old Chris—was happily gulping down some chocolate milk, oblivious to the tension being tossed back and forth between his older siblings. All the while, their mother looked back and forth between her two oldest children suspiciously. "Asha? Cade? You two are awfully quiet today," she commented after a long while.

Cade looked at her briefly, then put the broccoli in his mouth. "I got fired from the gas station today."

"Oh… Cade, it's okay. You'll find other work," said Mrs. Thompson, patting him on the shoulder. "Did they say why?"

"Budget cuts. Apparently there's someone who will work for below minimum wage, and lots of hours too," answered the young man before taking a long gulp of water. "I ran into Mrs. Cale at the station earlier."

"Oh really? I haven't talked to her for a few days, how's she doing?" asked Mrs. Thompson, lighting up at the mention of her good friend.

"Eh, fine. Logan's coming home from college this summer, ya know. He's graduating a year early," replied Cade nonchalantly.

"Oh yes, I heard that. He's such a pleasant young man! Smart, charming, good-looking!" She looked at Asha and her eyes sparkled with the possibilities.

"Yeah, if only he was a few years younger," said Asha in disgust. _The geek,_ she thought bitterly. Well, he had been a geek the last he saw her. Thick glasses, a bit of an acne problem, braces from age 12 to 18, too-short pants and too-large shirts. She hoped college had at least knocked some fashion sense into his thick skull.

"Mrs. Cale says he's changed a lot," commented Mrs. Thompson. "I can't wait to see him again!"

Chris make a gagging sound and giggled along with Asha.

"That's not very nice, Chris," scolded their mother, standing up. "Are you done with dinner?"

There were some mumblings of "yeah" and "sure" so she picked up their plates and put them in the sink. "Chris, it's your night to wash."

Groaning, the boy hopped from his chair and pulled a stool up to the sink so that he could reach.

Asha turned to Cade and decided asking him to take her to the movies was worth a try. He was, after all, her brother. "Hey Cade?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you take me to the theater?"

Cade stared at her for a bit, then sighed and said, "I have nothing better to do…"

Asha grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks!"

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…And so there they were again, driving down the road in silence. The movie theater was a little farther away than Asha's school. Asha studied her brother as they drove, brownish eyes taking in the powerful young man that was Cade Thompson. Ever since they were young, Cade had been extremely intelligent and quick. Being a mere year apart, they had been as close to each other as twins would be. That is, until Cade turned 16. Ever since then, his relationship with his sister had been going downhill to the point where they hardly ever talked, unless there was nothing better to do. Cade's girlfriend of three years, Natalie, was never brought over to the house. Once or twice the family had been invited out to dinner and she just happened to be present, but otherwise the only thing they knew about Natalie was what he told them.

Asha's mind drifted away from her brother to the young woman who she had seen once or twice. Natalie was a stunning, exotic beauty of Vietnamese descent. She had actually lived in Britain until she was 8 or so, giving her a crisp Manchester accent. Her long, silky hair was dark brown with the ends tainted dark red. She had faultless tan skin and a slender build, though she was no more than five feet tall. Her graceful walk gave her a floating effect, and her dancing brown eyes held a strong gaze like knives. Just thinking about Natalie's eyes—which Asha seldom dared look into—made Asha shiver.

It was odd how Natalie and Cade had come together. From what Asha had gathered, they met during a school pep rally and a mutual friend had arranged a dinner between the three of them that night. The friend had cancelled at the last minute, however, and neither felt it was right to leave just because their mutual friend couldn't make it—and things had progressed from a quick friendship to a long romance from there. Several times Asha had tried to get more of a story out of Cade, but he would rarely answer questions about Natalie.

"Asha," Cade's voice interrupted his sister's thoughts.

"Yeah?" She looked at her brother to find him very pale and looking nervous as hell. "Cade? What's wrong?"

"Do you have your seatbelt on?"

"Yes…"

Cade swerved to the side of the road and slammed onto the brakes, causing a thick black mark to form on the ground. He unlocked all the doors and honked.

Asha looked out the window and nearly screamed in surprise as four figures jumped from the tall grass on the side of the road, running towards the car. They were wearing ski masks and dressed in all black. "Cade?! What's going on?!" she shouted as three of the people jumped into the backseat.

The fourth person ran around to the back of the car and yanked off the license place before getting inside.

"Go, go, go!" shouted one of them as sirens began blaring in the distance.

Cade slammed on the gas, tires squealing against the ground before the car sped off down the road. Asha, unsure of what to do, sank into her seat and tried not to think about how fast they were probably going. She glanced in the side view mirror and saw blue and red lights coming up behind them—fast.

"Step on it!" cried the person with the license plate in a distinctly female voice.

"She doesn't go any faster!" protested Cade, who really had floored the pedal. "Where to?"

"Go into the grass!" instructed the first one who had spoken, removing his mask.

Asha gasped, unable to control herself. It was Billy Hammond—Cade's best friend since the second grade and her former crush.

"You guys caught me off-guard… I kinda have the squirt with me," said Cade as he pulled off the road and plowed through the tall grass.

The four passengers said nothing to Asha, but Billy shouted, "Turn left!"

Cade slammed the steering wheel to the left and the car nearly flipped, but managing to turn and head off in that direction. Grass and foliage slapped the windshield and bunched around the wheels, but Cade kept going until the grass broke and they reached the side of an apartment complex. Here he stopped and the four figures quickly jumped out. The sound of sirens rang in the air behind them.

"Wait!" Cade called to one of them, the female, who was re-attaching the license plate.

She turned and walked back over, lifting her mask to her nose. "Cade…"

He got out of the car and kissed her briefly but meaningfully before ducking back inside and revving the engine a few times. "See ya." Shifting the gears to reverse, he pulled back from the apartments and headed off in the direction opposite the road they had come from.

Asha was frozen in her seat. What was happening? Who were those people? Of course, she knew Billy, and there was no mistaking that voice—Natalie. What were they doing hiding in the grass late in the evening, looking like they were going to rob a bank?! Her head reeled with these questions and more, but as she turned to ask her brother—

WHAM!

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Asha jolted awake to find herself back at home, in her bed. Crickets merrily chirped underneath her window as the moon shone down through her half-open window onto her sweaty face. She put a hand to the back of her head and felt a sore bump there, the kind you get when someone hits you with something hard… So it couldn't have been a dream, could it? She gently peeled back the covers and picked up her jeans, checking the pockets.

…there was a ticket to the Matrix 8.

TBC…

So, whaddya say? Scrap it? And for the record, Asha is going to go through many last names throughout this story. I'm making believe that 'Thompson' is her real last name.


	2. Stumble, Crawl

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters appearing here. If you wish to use them, please ask me first.

Summary: Things get a little weird around the Thompson household.

A/N **to Ash:** Hello, yes, hi. If you're reading this, did you see that at the end of chapter 1 I mentioned Asha is going to change her last name several times during this story? Hmm? I removed your review, because it was meant to be discouraging and **_I don't care_** if you think Asha is boring. Don't read it then!

I've become website-happy these days. Please visit the Twisted website.

http://brin5734.tripod.com/twisted

And, while you're at it, want to become a member of the S1W? Click here to find out more:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/s1w/

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Twisted Angel 

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By****

Brin 

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_Why am I so uptight today?_

_Paranoia's all I got left_

_I don't know what stressed me first._

_Or how the pressure was fed/but_

_I know just what it feels like_

To have a voice in the back of my head 

_--_Linkin Park_, Papercut_

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The next morning, a Saturday, Asha sat on her bed with her back against the headboard, knees pulled to her chest with her chin resting on top of them. She could hear her little brother's Saturday morning cartoons bouncing around downstairs and her mother messing around in the kitchen like always. Once or twice she had heard Cade pass by her door, but didn't dare make a noise. The back of her head was beginning to throb. She sat like this until the clock said noon, then the doorbell rang. Asha got off the bed and went over to the door to listen. Hardly anybody ever came over to their house.

"Hello," her mother was saying with forced sweetness. "To what do we owe this pleasure, officer?"

Asha cracked open her door and peeked out. Her mother was standing in the way; she couldn't see the police officer, but she could hear the crackle of his walkie-talkie.

"Mrs. Jennifer Thompson?" queried the officer, his voice a deep rumble. "I need to speak with your son, a Cade Thompson."

Mrs. Thompson faltered, but recovered quickly and managed a smile as she turned and called upstairs, "Cade! Could you come down here please?"

Asha quickly pulled her door shut so that there was only a thin line to look through as Cade exited his room, which was farther down the hall, and passed by her door to stand at the top of the stairs.

"Yes?" he said politely.

"I'm Officer Jacob Wrigley, I need to speak with you in private," said the cop.

Asha narrowed her eyes as she spotted something in Cade's hands, which were held behind his back. He started moving down the stairs and she realized what it was—a gun. The young woman could barely muffle a gasp as her brother stuck it in his back pocket and pulled his sweater down to cover it. Cade hated guns… didn't he?

"Alright, Officer. Let's step outside," suggested Cade calmly.

The officer nodded and stepped out the door, Cade right behind him. As soon as the door closed, Asha was at her window. She pulled it open all the way open and pushed the screen off, stepping out onto the roof underneath her upstairs window. Having done this several times, Asha quickly and quietly climbed onto the main section of the roof. She went all the way to the top, then slid down the side and stopped herself on the gutter. Getting down on her stomach, she belly-crawled forward to where she could just barely see what was going on. The wind was blowing towards her so their voices wafted to her ears without strain.

"Is this your vehicle?" asked Wrigley, gesturing to the black Acura, which was currently half-covered with a blue tarp.

"Yes, sir, that it is," replied Cade coolly.

"Last night several people broke into the police station and stole some important files. They were ran to a black Acura RSX that had a large gash on the back bumper. May I look at your vehicle?"

"Do you have a warrant?" asked the young man, standing between Wrigley and his car.

"I have a grant from the Captain to examine any car I wish," growled the cop. "Now step aside."

Asha's heart was beating out of her chest. So it hadn't been a dream! Then how did she get the ticket? What was Cade and his friends doing stealing police files? She nearly fell off the roof as a wave of dizziness washed over her. The police car that had rammed them from behind! Had he done it on purpose to mark Cade's car for IDing?

"Let me get that out of the way for you," Cade's voice caught Asha's attention. He stepped over to the car and removed the tarp with a sly grin.

Officer Wrigley walked over to the back of the car, which was facing away from Asha, and inspected it closely. Minutes passed, and Asha's heart was beating so hard that she was afraid they could hear it. Cade, on the other hand, looked totally confident.

After he had fully inspected the back of the car, the officer straightened up and sighed, a sort of confused look on his face. "Well… there's no gash here."

"That's right, officer. I'm a very good driver," replied Cade.

Asha's jaw dropped in utter and complete shock. What?! Just last night, a long, deep gash had been in Cade's bumper! How was that possible?

Officer Wrigley looked just as confused as she must have as he said, "Sorry for bothering you."

Cade nodded his consent and watched carefully as Officer Wrigley got into his cop car and drove away. It was at this time that both Cade and Asha realized the officer's confusion—he had a large dent in the front of his car… He had been the one who rammed them from behind yesterday. When the car turned the corner, Cade's cell phone went off and he picked it up as he went back inside. As soon as he was gone, Asha slid down to the gutter and slung her legs over the edge. From there she lowered herself onto the downstairs roof, careful not too make too much noise. The ground was about ten feet below this gutter, and Asha was especially careful as she got down from here—Cade would know in an instant that she had been spying on him if she broke her leg.

The morning afternoon grass was soft and cool underneath Asha's bare feet as she hit the ground, tumbling backwards onto her bottom. She lay there for a moment, making sure nothing was broken, before getting up and tiptoeing past a living room window to the front gate. It had a horrible creak to it, having not been repaired or tended to for at least as long as Asha could remember, so she climbed over it instead.

Finally through with all the tumbling and climbing, Asha sauntered out onto her driveway, trying to make it look like she was going to get the mail. After she had checked the empty mailbox, she slid over to Cade's car and lifted the tarp. Sure enough, the car was as good as new—no gash in sight.

"Hmph," she sighed, shaking her head. She must've dreamed about the little 'adventure' from the night before.

Satisfied that the gash was absent from the car, Asha turned to head back into the backyard, only to find Cade glaring at her from the front stoop.

"Asha!" he barked angrily. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I-I… uhhh… I'm waxing it for you?" She rubbed her sleeve against the car, smiling nervously.

Cade checked over his shoulder to make sure Chris and their mother were preoccupied before stomping over to his little sister. "Don't lie to me, Asha. I know when you lie."

"Mmmkay, well… I was just checking to see if you got your car fixed? And you did. Awfully, quick too," she prodded.

"You stay out of my business," he warned her, his voice dangerous and low as he leaned forward for emphasis. "Don't you go snooping around my things, _ever."_

Asha recoiled from his closeness, moving out of the way so that she wasn't caught between him in the car. "Okay, I'm sorry! Jeez, what's your problem?"

Cade grabbed her wrist and narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't push it, Asha."

"Don't touch me, Cade," she snapped in the same tone. "I don't take orders from you."

His grip tightened. "I'm serious."

Asha's eyes widened in surprise. "Cade, you're hurting me…"

"Do you understand me, Asha? Don't you get into my business."

"Yes, I understand!" she said, unsuccessfully trying to twist her arm from his strong hand. "Let go of me!"

Cade released her wrist and spared her one more glare before going back inside, slamming the door behind him.

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Asha ran cold water over her bruised wrist, trying not to think about how mad she should be that Cade had been so mean to her. In fact, she was putting a lot of effort into not thinking about the past days' events at all. Cade's business was Cade's business, right?

_…but the police are involved and everything,_ that traitorous inner voice reasoned.

"No," she said aloud. "Cade's my brother."

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the memory of how terrified his face had been last night when they picked up the four people. That amount of fear in one person at one point in time wasn't something to be toyed with; he had obviously been scared for his life… and not only his life, but the lives of others, too. Billy's life? Natalie's life? …Asha's life? What kind of things could her brother be doing to get himself into something so serious?

_"…broke into the police station and stole some important files…"_ She remembered the officer's words.

Suddenly all the pieces fit a little more snugly. Her brother was always complaining about the new Sector Police and their unruly ways. In fact, once he had come home in a raging frenzy because he had been arrested for what the police called "harassing the police station" whereas he had only been walking down the street past it. And now that Asha thought about it… ever since that day, Cade had been especially cold when it came to police. He saved newspaper clippings about people saying they had been unjustly persecuted by the police; recorded news footage of sector police beating people mercilessly. Sometimes she would catch him watching the tapes at night, writing something down in a beaten-up old journal as he watched. It was starting to make sense.

"Asha?"

The young woman turned and stared at the closed bathroom door, wishing it would just disappear and she could stay in the room forever. "Cade?"

"Can I come in?"

"Free country." She watched as the doorknob slowly turned and heard the soft 'click' as the door slid open.

Cade stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Asha, about earlier today…"

"No, I understand," she interrupted. "You don't want me poking in your business. I will stop poking in your business, oh powerful one."

"Asha, you don't understand what you're dealing with. I want you to see that. The cop that came here today was ready to take me in, and you woulda never heard from me again if he found what he wanted. No trial, no goodbyes. He woulda handcuffed me on the spot and I would disappear from the radar. If you guys talked, you'd mysteriously pack up and move to another country, if you get me," he said seriously. "This isn't like when we were kids and we played spy games."

"So you _are_ doing something illegal!" Asha jumped up and down. "Tell me tell me tell me!"

Cade frowned. "Haven't you heard anything I've said? Asha, _no._ You stay away."

Asha rolled her eyes at him. "You're so dramatic." She pushed past her brother and into the hallway. "Chill out."

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Days passed and there was no more action around the Thompson household. There was definitely some tension from the cop's visit, but otherwise nobody said much about that particular incident. Asha suffered through yet another week of school and Saturday rolled around again. This Saturday, however, she compensated for her early awakening the week before by sleeping in until 2 in the afternoon. By the time she got up, Chris had already gone to the movies with his friends and come back.

"Well if it isn't the Sleeping Beauty herself," joked Chris as Asha staggered down the stairs.

"Shut up, pipsqueak," she snapped.

"You've got bed head," continued the 10-year-old, never taking his eyes off his video game.

"Chris, be nice," scolded Mrs. Thompson as she entered the room. She looked at Asha and sighed disapprovingly. "Asha, I need you to get ready. Logan's coming home this afternoon and we're going to have dinner with the Cales, okay?"

Asha groaned. She would rather go back to school than have dinner with the Cales. However, the look of conviction in her mother's eyes ended all arguments. "Alright… I'm going back upstairs," she moaned.

"Make sure you look nice for you smoochy-woochy, Logan," called Chris after her.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," replied Asha, stifling a yawn. She got her door and paused outside it when she heard Cade's voice drifting from his room. He was talking to Natalie, and sounded extremely stressed.

"I can't tonight, Alie, I promised my mom I'd have dinner with her buddies," he said, then there was a long pause, to which he replied, "How about you come have dinner with us instead, huh Alie? It can wait one night. I promise I'll go with you tomorrow night. I'll even get Billy and Hannah to come with us, just to be safe, okay?" Another pause. "You will? Thanks, Alie, you know how my mom gets when I miss her dinners with the Cales, the snobs." Pause. "Yeah. I love you too, Alie. When this is all over we're going to get far away from here, okay? We'll get out of the country, and we'll be safe forever. We'll go to the Bahamas. Does that sound nice, Alie? …I'll see you tonight. It's a black tie occasion, if you know what I mean. Thanks. Bye."

Asha darted into her room as he put the phone down.

…Get out of the country?

TBC

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=D


	3. Dinner with the Cales

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters appearing here. If you wish to use them, please ask me first.

Summary: It's dinner with the Cales, and Asha comes a hairsbreadth away from discovering her brother's secret.

A/N: Broke my foot. : - ( Will put a damper on writing.

Twisted Angel 

****

By

BRIN 

 "Once the game is over the king and the pawn go back in the same box." –Italian Proverb

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Chapter 3: Dinner with the Cales 

Asha uncomfortably pulled her black dress down, trying to figure out why it showed more of her legs than it had three days ago. The air of her room was thickly scented with perfume that she had spilled, mixed with the smell of nail polish, which she had also spilled. If she wasn't absolutely totally perfect then her mom would be mad at her the entire night, and that was never any fun… not that dinner with the Cales of Boringdom was _ever _any fun. To make things worse, "Uncle Jonas" and "Aunt Margo" were tagging along. That meant napkin-in-lap, wipe-mouth-after-every-bite-which-should-be-cut-separately manners. She _hated_ it!

"Are you almost ready?" asked Cade from outside the door.

Asha glared at her reflection once more before grabbing a handbag from her bed and throwing open her door. "Yes, yes, I'm coming!" she said stressfully.

Cade was looking pretty nice in his new tuxedo, complete with black tie. He held the door for her, eyes twinkling with sarcasm, and followed her down the stairs. "So… you think you're going to fall for Looogan?" he held out the name annoyingly.

"Logan Cale is quite possibly the most boring boy I have ever met," snapped Asha. She looked around. "Where's Mom and Chris?"

"They already left, O Late One. I'm driving."

"Well we know what happens when _you _drive nowadays," she said before she could stop herself.

Cade frowned, but didn't respond to that comment. Instead, he said in a rather humbled voice, "We should get going. Don't want to make Mom look bad in front of the Cales."

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_Mahogany _was an upper-class restaurant in a quiet part of town. Only the richest of the rich could afford to buy more than a glass of wine there—and the Cales were not only the richest of the rich in Seattle, but also owned half the restaurant. It was decorated with mostly black iron and mahogany-colored wood (hence the name), polished and shiny. The waiters and waitresses were dressed in poofy-sleeved white silk uniforms, black aprons, and black pants.

Asha immediately felt uncomfortable as she walked into the restaurant, which she had been in once or twice before. There were many different factors to her lack of comfort, however: one was Natalie standing next to her brother, another was the prospect of seeing Logan, another was putting on her best manners for the Cales, and yet another was the idea that she might actually have to engage in conversation with one of the Cales tonight. She shivered, rubbing her arms to make it look like she was cold.

Cade tapped her on the shoulder and motioned to follow him as he began walking past the tables of expensively-dressed snobs. They seemed to have a permanent arch in their neck, making their noses stick high in the air. Asha shook her head disapprovingly at the snobby old farts who regarded her with obvious disgust and repulsion. She simply flipped her bobbed hair and walked on indifferently.

They exited the main room of the restaurant into the back room, which included a dance floor and was used for things like parties, weddings, wedding receptions, business meetings, proms, etc. Music was playing in the background; some classical song that Asha could barely stand listening to. She was more partial to rock.

"Asha!" cried a woman of her mid-fifties, rising from her seat.

"Mrs. Cale," Asha returned with a nervous grin.

Mrs. Cale was a red-faced, slightly large, and overly-friendly woman who was always willing to lend a helping hand. She had a certain innocence about her that made the whole world seem right again; like it was okay to be oblivious to reality. She wore a brightly-colored dress with pearls around her neck, her silvery hair pulled back into a bun. Her bright blue eyes peered out at the world from behind steel-framed glasses.

Asha barely held back a gasp as Mrs. Cale seized her in a tight bear hug, nearly lifting the young woman off the ground. "Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Cale," choked Asha, feeling as if her ribs had broken.

"And Cade, my dear!" Mrs. Cale placed a hand on either side of Cade's face and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You look so handsome and grown up!" She then spotted Natalie, who was standing half-hidden behind Cade's large frame. "And who is this _gorgeous_ young woman?"

"This is Natalie," replied Cade quietly.

"I didn't know you were _dating_ nowadays, Cade! How long have you two been seeing each other? You make an awfully cute couple." Mrs. Cale embraced Natalie in a crushing hug, and the young woman simply smiled in return.

"Quite some time," said Cade nonchalantly before moving over to the table to sit across from a man couple of years older than him. "Logan."

"Cade," returned the blue-eyed young man indifferently.

Cade held out the chair for Natalie before sitting down. She glued her eyes to the sparkling white plate, grabbing Cade's hand underneath the table as he sat down next to her.

"I don't believe I've met your friend," said Logan, standing up and offering his hand to Natalie.

"Alie, this is Logan. Logan, Natalie," replied Cade in a quiet voice.

Natalie shook hands with the older man, a polite smile resting on her lips. As he sat back down she said in her clear and musical voice, "It's very nice to meet you."

Logan broke into a wide smile. "Manchester, eh?"

"I was born there."

Asha watched the exchange carefully; suspiciously. This conversation was too… too calm, too manufactured… too planned. She sat down next to Cade and watched him carefully as he turned to whisper in Natalie's ear. As kids, Cade and Logan had _hated_ each other. They fought, physically and verbally, and played nasty tricks on each other. Cade usually came out as the victor, unless Logan whipped out one of his rich-boy tricks. They hadn't spoken in four years (or so it seemed) and this polite exchange of greetings was way too civilized for two people who (allegedly) hated each other so much.

…And Asha didn't buy it.

The evening progressed as an evening at a sophisticated restaurant with sophisticated people would; there were lively discussions of the latest stock losses and gains, along with heated debates over the upcoming presidential election. Yep, Asha was half asleep by the time dinner finally arrived on grand silver-rimmed porcelain plates. Her head had nodded that one last time when the tantalizing smell of chicken cooked with herbs and spices not ordinarily found nowadays reached her nose. She bolted upright, pupils widening at the sight of the plate sitting before her. There was a rather large chunk of perfectly-cooked chicken, steamed vegetables such as green beans and carrots, rice, a baked potato, and a glass of white wine.

Dinner was considerably quiet for a dinner with the Cales. Asha was too busy concentrating on being a good-mannered little girl to notice anything around her, but after she had devoured about half of her chicken her attention was caught by the voice of the a man she would very much love to strangle with a scarf.

"So what do you think of those police-station raids, eh Cade, my boy?" asked the sickeningly fake voice of Uncle Jonas.

"It's a horrible thing, what with all the police do for us," replied Cade calmly. He wiped his mouth with his napkin a few times and looked at Natalie, his hand resting on her thigh underneath the table. "What about you, Alie."

Asha sat up straight, extremely curious now. First of all, she had never heard Natalie speak more than two sentences during the same five minutes. Second of all, Uncle Jonas seemed to be regarding her brother and his girlfriend with snake-like suspicious eyes. That was bad, considering Jonas practically invented the hover drones and was extremely close with the police department – _especially_ the members of it with power.

"I think it was wrong to invade the station like that, putting such an embarrassing scar on the police department's otherwise spotless record," replied Natalie with a polite smile, batting her eyelashes innocently. "But maybe those people had a reason for it. Maybe the police have done some kind of wrong to them. Wouldn't you agree, Jonas? What, with all the reports of police abuse lately…"

Jonas was growing a little heated around the collar, his cheeks tinted red. Nonetheless, he kept his composure as he responded, "Dear Natalie, what ever do you mean?"

"Why, I think just last week one of your hover drones caught footage of a policeman beating a poor homeless woman to death. It was all over the news. Did you not catch it?" She reached up with both hands and methodically looped her locks of silky black hair behind her ears then placed both hands on the table – one on top of the other – and shifted her weight forward.

"Yes, I did see that footage… but you must understand, my dear girl, that the media takes the littlest things and blows them into the most outrageous proportions! Not all that they say is true; that woman had been harassing the officer with a gun. The officer had no choice but to defend himself and remove the gun from her possession."

"If only he could have done it without putting her in the hospital." Natalie sighed much like a pampered model would do if approached for an autograph, one of her dress straps falling down her shoulder a bit. She then hummed a little tune in that clear and musical voice of hers, looking around as if she were bored.

Jonas' jaw clamped shut and he laughed, raising his glass to her verbal victory.

Asha was mesmerized by this obvious display of mental tricks. In under three minutes, Natalie had Jonas wrapped around her pinky finger. Asha had to admit that she had been engrossed in what Natalie was saying as well, because Natalie was plainly a master at overtaking the human mind. As she spoke, she would make herself as interesting as possible with small gestures and facial expressions that were far more animated than they seemed at first glance. She also spoke in a voice so pleasant to listen to, her accent so delightful to the human ear, that one couldn't help but listen… and Asha knew that there was a reason Natalie had this skill… and it probably had something to do with her brother's secret activities…

"Asha?"

The young woman jumped, her blonde hair falling down in her eyes, and she found herself looking up at Logan. "Yes?" she responded bitterly.

"I was just heading over to the supermarket across the street. Would you like to join me?"

"No."

"How about stretching your legs for a bit?"

Asha turned herself in her chair so that she was facing him and stretched her legs out before her. "Done."

"Asha!" scolded Mrs. Thompson from a few chairs down. She narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

The young blonde groaned and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay. Fine. I'll come with you, Logan."

A smile broke out on his clean-shaven face. "Alright! I'll grab your coat for you." He turned to leave, but before he could, a voice interrupted,

"I think we'll tag along."

Logan turned around and provided Cade a feigned grin. "Oh… okay. I can only fit two in my car, so you'll have to take your own."

Asha looked between her brother and Logan, then stepped between them. "I'll ride with Cade and Natalie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride across the street was actually utterly pointless, since they could've walked faster then dealing with all the traffic of going directly across a four-lane road. But the four of them were all dressed up and it wouldn't do to return to the restaurant covered in grime. When they arrived, Logan was waiting by the front door.

"I need to get some toothpaste and shaving cream for my apartment," announced Logan as they went inside.

"Hm… I need some too. I think I'll come with," replied Cade. He kissed Natalie on the cheek and continued, "You girls do whatever girls do. We'll be right back."

Asha was in total shock as her brother and Logan walked away like good friends. Her jaw dropped open with an audible creak, then she nearly gasped as she realized that she was left with Natalie. Alone.

"Come on, squirt. I have to get some treats for my cat," said Natalie, smiling like they, too, were good old friends.

"Uhh… sure…" Asha shrugged and followed Natalie towards the pet section… but when they reached the middle of the store she stopped and looked back to where Cade and Logan had disappeared.

This was all too perfect.

It was way too planned.

And Asha still wasn't buying it.

Making sure that Natalie wasn't looking, she slipped over to the section where Logan and Cade would be. They weren't there… Suspicious. She poked around the aisles, peeking through the gaps between the aisles to see where they were. After a small eternity, she spotted them standing behind the two swinging doors that led to the storage area. She could feel the adrenaline building up in her veins. Her mind was screaming questions, and she knew that the events of the past two weeks had built up to this crucial moment… There was no way in hell she was going to miss it, so she slid over to stand to the side of the door and listened.

"Do you have the papers?" Logan was asking.

"Of course. You owe me for this one; I almost got nabbed last week," said Cade.

There was the ruffling of fabric and papers as Cade pulled the items in question from his pocket and gave them to Logan, who put them in his pocket.

"This'll give me the evidence I need to clear up the Randall vs. the State of Washington case I've been working on… also enough information to give the first broadcast," continued Logan.

"When're you going to do it?"

"Three weeks exactly, at 9:00 P.M. You'll be watching?"

"Wouldn't miss the downfall of the bastards who call themselves lawmen," replied Cade, his voice thick with venomous hatred.

"Alright. Let's go before Asha suspects something."

Asha's eyes widened and she turned to run away, only to come face to face with—

Natalie. A very, very angry Natalie at that. The doors opened and there was some confused shouting from Cade and Logan, then something sharp pricked Asha's arm and she slowly sank to the floor, enveloped in blackness.

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The next thing Asha was aware of, she was sitting on the couch in the women's bathroom of _Mahogany_. Several women were staring at her, and she said in a drowsy voice, "What happened?"

"We came in here and you were asleep, dear. Are you okay?" said one of them, feeling Asha's forehead with a chilly palm.

"I'm fine," replied the teen, standing up. She brushed herself off, muttered a 'thank you' to the women, and returned to the table. Cade, Logan, and Natalie were back in their seats. Dessert was being served.

"Asha! There you are. You came back from the store so tired and said you were going to the bathroom!" said Mrs. Cale, her face tight with worry. "Natalie was just about to go look for you, you poor thing."

Asha narrowed her eyes at her brother, his girlfriend, and the college student. There was no way she had said that! She remembered being knocked unconscious by a shot! Making a sour face at her brother, the young woman sat down and pouted the rest of the meal. Despite her curiosity, she knew it wasn't the time or place to discuss it… but sooner or later, she would make them tell her what was going on… or she'd find out for herself.

  
TBC…

A/N: The theme song for this story is going to be _You get Me_ by Michelle Branch. I'll add lyrics to the beginning of every chapter ^_^


	4. Halloween Town

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters appearing here. If you wish to use them, please ask me first.

Summary: It's finally happened – Asha has discovered the dark secret her brother carries – but not the way Asha had imagined it.

**Twisted** **Angel**

By

Brin 

"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters." - Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)

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So I'm a little left of center 

_I'm a little out of tune_

_Some say I'm paranormal_

_So I just bend their spoon_

_Who wants to be ordinary_

_In a crazy, mixed-up world?_

_I don't care what they're saying_

_As long as I'm your girl_

**Chapter 4:** Halloween Town

Asha Katherine Thompson, her shoulder-length hair pulled back from her face, adjusted the orange glow-in-the-dark pumpkin on her window so that it hung straight. She was dressed in an all-black outfit and a bottle of orange hair-color spray sat half-forgotten on the floor. It was October 30th, the day before Asha's third favorite day of the year (third only to her birthday and Christmas), and the 16-year-old was in an especially giddy mood this year. The past few weeks had been boring and busy; she hadn't had much time to sit down and think about her brother and his mysterious ways – and now that Halloween had finally rolled around, she didn't feel like thinking about it at all. The only thing on her mind was her school's annual Halloween Masquerade Party. She and her friends had a crazy plan to dress as Roman women would dress to attend what a bacchanalia* - white faces with dark eye and lip makeup with skimpy outfits. Asha had also picked up a pair of red temporary contacts, just for effect.

When she had finished the task of applying demon stickers and such to her window, she happily stumbled down the stairs and plopped on the living room couch to check for the weather forecast – the party was to be held outside in the school courtyard, and if it rained their bacchanalia outfits would be ruined, along with the rest of the dance.

"…the skies are cloudless and the weekend looks good from where we are…" said the forecaster.

Satisfied, Asha clicked off the TV and was just about to hop back up to her room when she heard her mom call, "Asha! Could you take this up to your brother's room?"

"Why doesn't he do it?" she responded, halfway to the stairs.

"He's out with Natalie. Please?"

Asha froze as a light bulb turned on in her head. "You mean… he's not home…"

"I just said he's not, Asha!" said Mrs. Thompson in exasperation as she emerged from the kitchen with a basket of recently-cleaned clothes. "Take these up there and don't bother his things; you know how touchy he gets!"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Asha, putting on her best pout as she dragged her feet up the stairs. As soon as she was sure her mother had returned to the laundry, she hurried into her brother's room and locked the door behind her.

Clothes were strewn about the floor carelessly and a long-forgotten moldy sandwich sat on his desk next to his computer. The screensaver was flashing the time and date in several different colors. Asha made this her first target, pushing the sandwich aside as she took a seat in his office chair and moved the mouse. Instantly, the computer asked for a password. Here, Asha kicked herself; of course Cade's computer would require a password! She wracked her brain for possible answers, but all the obvious ones were rejected – NATALIE, ALIE, NAT, CADE, CHRIS, ASHA, THOMPSON, BILLY, HANNAH, etc. She was quite sore at the dumb machine after typing in about fifty different guesses, only to come up empty-handed. After a few more precious minutes had ticked by, the figured out the password. It was something only she and Cade would know, and in later years she would briefly regret ever coming to realize the password that opened the next chapter of her life.

When Cade was eight and Asha five or six, they had enjoyed playing games with each other – like the 'Guess the Imaginary Friend's Name' game, or the 'Let's See Who Can Make Up the Stupidest Word' game. The former game was the one that held the password. The last time they had ever played that game was when Cade finally realized he could make up an outrageously uncommon, strange name and Asha would never guess it. After he told her the answer, they had fought over the rules and never played it again. The name was Renska.

OOOOOO

Asha stared at the little circles in the password box for a long time before pressing the 'Enter' key. Instantly, the screensaver disappeared and the desktop took its place. There was the basics – the Recycle Bin, My Computer, My Documents, etc – and then there was one other folder titled 'README.' She opened it and it asked for another password, but Asha guessed it easily enough since Cade obviously didn't think anyone would be able to access the folder and had gotten careless.

A-L-I-E.

The folder opened and Asha found hundreds upon hundreds of documents. She opened one and found the profile of a man beaten to death by the police. At the bottom of his profile, in hurriedly-written chicken scratch were the words BURN ALL FILES.

Her heart was pounding against her ribcage, sweat droplets forming on her forehead. The teenager was well-aware of what she had stumbled upon, and her heart knew it as well. She felt as if a giant, ominous door of reality had been opened, spreading its darkness over her, and she was to be forever stuck in its grasp. A lump formed in her throat and she gulped several times to loosen it.

She found her hand moving without her mind's permission; opening this file, closing that one, scrolling down this and hiding that. Her eyes saw things she knew was never meant to see – from mutilated bodies to reports of families driven to starvation from intense, illegal taxation. Immediately, she knew why her brother fought against the corrupt police force so passionately. This wasn't just unjustly-dealt tickets; these were lives that had been toyed with and ruined without a second thought. If she had the power, she wouldn't let it continue either.

…and then she found the file marked "EYESONLY.doc" At first she thought it meant something about being for a certain person's eyes only, but when she opened it she found a transcript. It read:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR SET. THE CABLE HACK WILL LAST EXACTLY SIXTY SECONDS. IT CANNOT TRACED, IT CANNOT BE STOPPED, AND IT IS THE ONLY FREE VOICE LEFT IN THE CITY. THE SECTOR POLICE HAVE BEEN PILLAGING INNOCENT FAMILIES' LIFE SAVINGS FOR YEARS—

Asha jumped in surprise as she heard the doorknob jiggle.

"Hey! Who's in there?!" boomed the furious voice of her brother from the outside. "If you don't open this door right now I'm going to break it down!"

Her heart thudded harder and faster than ever before as she raced to close all the documents. The young woman's speed was greatly hindered, however, by the several "Would you like to save?" windows that popped up on ever other document. She couldn't close them fast enough, and her brother was banging on the door with both fists now.

"Open this door! Right now! I know you're in there!"

Asha's hands were shaking by the time she finally closed the last document. She then right-clicked on the desktop and opened up a menu to put the screensaver back on—

But it was too late.

BANG!

Asha screamed in surprise as the doorknob was shot off of the door. It then swung open and a very, very furious Cade stepped into the room holding a 35 Glock in his hand. He took one look at Asha, his screensaver-less computer, and cocked the trigger of the gun.

"You… you… YOU!" He shouted, lunging for her.

"Cade, Cade no!" she yelled as she moved out of the way, towards the window. This was a bad move, however, and she found herself backed up between a rock and very hard place.

Her brother was standing there, gun in hand, glaring at her with fiery eyes. These were not the eyes of her brother, were they? They blazed bright with anger so intense that Asha could barely stand looking into them, as if they would suck her up and she would never be seen again. He was suddenly very powerful. He held head high and his body tense. His knees were slightly bent, readying him to spring at a moment's notice. Then there was that black, ominous gun that was held in such a way that it seemed like an extension of her brother's muscled arm – he was, in no way, unused to using that gun.

"You come into my room, hack into my computer, read my files, and expect me to just shake it off?!" he said in a fierce voice before she could speak. "Asha, you have _no idea_ what you just did! _No idea!_ You haven't the slightest clue what've gotten yourself into!" He shut the damaged door behind him. "I tried to appease your curiosity by putting the ticket into your pocket so you would think you _had_ gone to the movies. I didn't say much about you spying on me with the police officer, and I fixed my car to further your belief that you had gone to the movies. Logan let you come with us to the market. Yet you didn't think, Asha… and now you're in trouble."

"Cade… Cade, don't hurt me," she whimpered as he moved forward. "Cade, I'm sorry!"

"Asha, you don' t understand what you've just gotten yourself into," he repeated. Keeping the gun trained on her forehead, he walked over to his desk and removed from it a bag with a piece of cloth inside. When he removed it, a horrible smell reached Asha's nose.

"Wait! Wait, no! Don't do this!"

Cade, ignoring her pleas, pinned her against the wall in one powerful movement and forced the cloth over her nose and mouth. Instantly, Asha fell into the oblivion of unconsciousness and slumped to the ground.

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Asha awoke with a start, bolting upright in whatever she was lying in, and hit her head on the low ceiling above her. A string of colorful curses left her lips and looked around. She was sitting in a bunk bed in a dimly-lit room. There was a small window, only about one foot across and half a foot tall, crammed up next to the ceiling. The moon shone in through it, providing the only light in the room. She could hear soft breathing from the bed under hers, and she crept to the edge to peek down into it.

Lying curled up in each other's arms were Cade and Natalie, fast asleep.

"Hey," whispered a voice through the darkness.

Asha jumped, whacking the back of her head on the ceiling again, and looked up to find Billy staring at her from a few feet away. He had been lying in a cot that had been hidden by the shadows, but had now stood so that they were at eye level. There was a gun in his hand.

"Come with me. Don't wake them up," ordered Billy, gesturing with the shotgun to the sleeping figures on the lower bunk bed.

"Okay," she replied as she carefully climbed off the top bunk and followed Billy out of the dark room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Billy said, "Wash up. There's a change of clothes in there. When you're done I'll take you down to get something to eat." He gestured to the door directly across from them.

"Um… okay," replied Asha, glancing up and down the hall. The ceilings were white and the floor was off-white, making the entire corridor painful to the eyes at such an hour of the night. She quickly went into the bathroom to escape the brightness of the hall and heard the door lock behind her. She was a prisoner.


End file.
